Meeting again
by Penny Charlotte Brown
Summary: Oscar goes to Paris to help the local police, when she meets a man, who says knew her in the past... Meeting him would change her whole life, for good.
1. prolog

Prolog

"We´ll be aproaching Paris and start the landing soon..." the announcement told the passangers.

Oscar looked out of the window. Even if it had already turned dark, she could still distinguish the Eiffel-tower and the Arch of Triumph...

"So this is France" she thought coldly "Finally..." She had sat still long enough. She put her book in her bag and started to get ready for landing.

Although her family originally came from France, she herself had never visited France before. Her sister, who had spent her honeymoon in Paris, had praised it. According to her Paris was a wonderful place full of excitement and, of course: romance.

But of course, Oscar wasn´t interested of that, Oh no; she was here because of work. There has been a series of jewel thefts, and there were rumours that the thiefs were now planning to target the Palace of Versailles. It was a national pride for the French to stop the thiefes from ever taking the valuables from the Palace. And because Oscar was working as a commander in highly respected British Army Force, her French colleagues had asked for her help. They really needed to catch the thieves. Not only did it concern France, but also Russia, England, German and Poland had experienced chain of jewel robberies. Even Oscar´s home country England was in trouble because of the thefts.

As the airplane had landed, Oscar then walked out ...

As she came through the customs, she saw this huge statue of a couple. She went towards it wondering, what it was. "Oh" she looked disappointed..."Another one of those brilliant ways of showing "how romantic Paris really was"" she thought. She then opened her cellphone to see if she had any messages. No messages.

"Commander de Jarjeyes!" she heard someone suddenly calling her name and she turned to look. It was a man of his late 40s. A funny looking guy with moustache. He came towards Oscar.

"Commander de Jarjeyes, welcome to France. My name is General Dagout. Please to meet you." He spoke in French, in which Oscar was fluent.

"Thank you, general Dagout…" before she could continue, Dagout interrupted: "I am sure you must be tired. I will escort you to the hotel, and tomorrow I will introduce you to our department of crimes. Then we will go to Versailles to look around and make plans for catching the thieves."

"Yes, thank you." she then looked at the statue once more…

"This statue was erected here to remind of the romantic side of Paris." he explained to her.

"Romantic" she yawned…"Well, maybe for someone…" she added…"Let´s go."

They started to walk towards to exit…"I see..." Dagout said..."You´re not into romance..."

"Not particularly..."

In that evening Oscar sad on her bed in her hotelroom deep in her thoughts about...him. Even if it had been years, she still sometimes thought of him. His beautiful face and good manners had won her over...

"Fersen..."

Oscar was a beautiful blond woman of 29 years of age. But she never really considered herself as a "woman". She had been raised as a man and she had never felt like a woman. There had never been any reason to...

It was only for a short while, when she had felt something, but it had all been just a lie. She shook her head..."No, Oscar. You shouldn´t think about him. He´s an idiot. A total idiot." she thought and started to get ready for a night sleep.

The next day Dagout introduced Oscar to her new department and then to Miss Rosalie La Moliere. She was sitting in a café while general Dagout and Oscar aproached her. When she saw them, she stood up.

"Miss Rosalie, this is Oscar François de Jarjeyes. You will accompany her to Versailles."

"Nice to meet you, Rosalie." she said, took her hand and kissed it.

Rosalie blushed "La...lady Oscar...Nice to meet you."

Rosalie was a beautiful blondish woman about 25 years of age. She was not in the police force, but instead she had volunteered in many "secret operations". Just like this one was, a secret operation; no one needed to know about Oscar and her purpose of being at the Palace of Versailles.

They all sat down to discuss the plan they had.

The plan was that Oscar –disguised as a man-was on date with Rosalie, so that she could easily look around the palace without racing any suspicious. Because the Palace of Versailles was now a museum, they had easy access to it.

At Versailles...

Oscar was in her civilian clothes, disguised as a man-which wasn´t that difficult considering that she usually wore men´s clothes and behaved like a man. She held her long blond hair open as she usually did. And even in men´s clothing, she looked astonishing. To make her appearance even more natural, she had camera hanging around her neck, just like every tourist.

She and Rosalie went alone into the Palace, and general Dagout went to entirely different direction. He wanted to conduct his private research on the other part of the Palace.

As Oscar and Rosalie walked side by side, a shadow appeared there. It was a man, who was watching them …

"Wow! This is a huge place" Oscar though while walking the long corridors of the Versailles Palace… She was a bit confused though, she had this strange feeling of being here before."That´s impossible" she thought…"I´ve never been to France before, not even as a child" she shook her head. She needed to concentrate on the mission. She looked everywhere and took a lot of pictures. She would need those later on.

As Oscar and Rosalie were standing at the front of a beautiful setting, admiring it, something unexpected happened…

"There you are! I´ve been looking for you everywhere!" A man´s voice said. They turned around to look…

A man of 30 years of age came to them. He was tall and very handsome with his blond hair and blue eyes. When Oscar saw him for the first time, she though she knew him…But where she had met him?

The man fell on his knees in front of them and started talking…" Finally I was able to find you, my love." …His eyes were full of tears…"I have searched you all my life; I have travelled thousands of miles to find you…" he spoke in French.

Oscar thought that this young man had to be Rosalie´s boyfriend. "But…didn´t she said she doesn´t have a boyfriend…"she thought.

"Mademoiselle…" he turned towards Oscar…"My name is Sean Dumon…" he was very emotional…"I love you…." he took her hand into his…"Will you marry me?"

"Me?!"


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"What?!" She was shocked. Was he proposing to her?! But that was ridiculous...

"Me?!"…she was able to say…"But…" she tried to speak…"I don´t even know you…"

"Yes you do"…he looked right into her eyes…"you know me." he triped over his word..." We…have met…before…"

"What?!"

"When?!" there was something familiar about him alright, but still…

"Where?!"

Sean lowered his voice…"in previous life…"

"Previous life"? that was it, he was joking. Making a fool out of her.

"Look, you´re joking" Oscar replied. "This got to be a mistake…"

But was it? She could tell that his heart was beating fast and his hands were shaken. But his voice was firm enought to know he wasn´t joking.

Oscar was even more shocked…What was this all about?! Was this a trick to distrack her from her job? It had to be it...

Or maybe he was insane?

She looked deep into his blue eyes. " But those eyes…" she thought. There was something about those eyes...She knew that she had seen them before…

She was about to say something, but when she opened her mouth, nothing came out.

"I know it´s hard to believe, but…" Before he could continue, Oscar pulled her hand away and ran away as fast as she could. She had hard time to get glimpse of where she was going, because her eyes seemed wet and her mind was confused.

She stopped only, when she knew she wasn´t been followed. She was confused and shocked. How could this stranger just ask her hand in marriage? Without even knowing her? Why would he tell such a ridiculous lie about their previous life? What was his aim? Was he part of the jewel thieves and just trying to interfere with her investigations? Or was he just some lonely man trying to pick any woman, and that´s why he used that trick? Or did he really believe in what he said?

For the first time in her life, Oscar was puzzled. No one has ever done anything like that to her…The proposal was so ...beautiful...No, she shook her head...that wasn´t the word she was looking for...

...a lie…

Yes, that was the word: it was a lie.

But why had she reacted that way? Weren´t she supposed to be professional? Hadn´t she surpressed her feelings deep enough? Wasn´t she a person with reason?..."Father..." she whispered...

Later that day...

Oscar was walking down a street in her thoughts. That incident at the Versailles was still hounting in her mind. It wasn´t the first time she had been aproached by a man with suggestions to her, but...never like that, and never had she been proposed to...

Every time a guy had aproached her, she had always been able to keep calm and shrug it off by saying something harsh to him. It had worked everytime. But this time it was something different. She had been completely supprised by a sudden proposal...She wasn´t even able to say him anything, she just...What? "What are you thinking, Oscar?" she asked herself.

Should she laught at the matter? Should she just ignore it? She should, she definitely should just forget about it... But somehow she couldn´t see anything funny in it nor could she ignore it either. Why was the man so familiar? Has she met him before? Why had he put on a comedy act? "Met in previous life?" she thought..."Stupid..."

"Insane…"

Then her cellphone rang. It was general Dagout. He had taken the man into questioning...

"Yeah, that must be it..." she thought..."he had to be part of the gang, and was just trying to confuse her by this...stupid act..."

Oscar asked general Dagout to investigate into this man´s past. Maybe he was a part of the gang of the jewel thieves, and that´s why an important link to resolving this puzzle. She was going to do everything she could to catch these thieves.

It was exactly the reason she went to visit a security guard, who had worked at the museum, but who was now retired. She had come to realize that these guards and other staff usually had something to say, but who were almost always ignored in investigations. The guard lived nearby, so she got there just in time to do a deep interview.

And she was lucky enough; he told her all he could think off; about the short history of the museum and his long career there. Every little detail.

And once Oscar was done questioning him, it was already dark. But that didn´t bother her, because it was a clear night and she needed the walk. "Time to go back to the hotel" she thought.

That same night at the other end of Paris...

_He_ was there; in an old house…He was sleeping in his bed and dreaming, dreaming about her...again...

In that dream he was only a little boy. A little boy, who had fallen in love with his guardian. In that dream she had taken him on a ride on her horse. How wonderful it felt as they galloped through the fields…

"oh…"

"Oscar" he screamed...

"Oscar!"

He opened his eyes...It had been just a dream, but he was all sweaty. "What a dream!" he thought and got up from his bed. He walked to the window. It was already a midnight. He looked at the streetlight at the front of his window. He wondered how many times he had been watching it for these past years he had been living there...and always at midnight after he had awaken from a dream about...her. Until today he wasn´t quite sure if she was a pure imagination or not, but now...he knew she was real. "Oscar" he whispered. He smiled; he had finally found her...


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next day Oscar went to work at the local police department just like every morning, except this wasn´t like every had changed...But what?

Maybe she was just anxious to know about the investigation...Her mind wandered to this man, again...Had they found out something about this strange young man? He must be a thief...

"Good morning" said the janitor, but she was too deep in her thoughts to notice him. Only when she came out of the elevator and heard her men talking, she woke from her thoughts...

"A man proposed to our commander?! You´ve got to be joking!"

"No, really!"

She started to walk towards her office right past the men, who continued their conversation without noticing her at all...Luckily, she thought.

"He was right here, being questioned…"

"Is he involved with the jewel thieves?"

"..."

Only then they noticed her presence.

The men became quiet, when they saw Oscar walking towards her office. She pretended not to hear any of that, but she did. Frankly speaking, she didn´t care, because she had her own problems…

She opened the door to her office and walked to her desk. Immediately the phone rang, and she answered it. It was her father calling from England…

"Oscar, have you settled down all ready? How´s the investigation going?" He started as usual, without even greeting her properly. That was his way; right down to the business.

She didn´t have even time to sit down, when she answered her father.

"Yes, father. The hotel is quite comfortable and the investigations are going fine. Thank you for asking." She didn´t want to tell him about "that" incident yesterday.

"I hope you solve the case soon-and of course you will"… he said with a proud voice…"you are my son…" he paused "…my daughter" he corrected.

"Yes, father…" she was going to tell him, that she didn´t have time to talk, but he interrupted her…

"After solving the case, we will hold engagement party for you…and Girodere."

That was something she didn´t like. In fact, she had accepted this mission in France in order to get away from her forced engagement to the man she didn't love.

"Father! I am not going to marry Girodere! I don´t love him!" She raised her voice. She was frustrated, again.

"But of course you are! Who will then give me a grandson? Girodere is just right for you; he is rich and comes from the good family…" he paused…"Oscar?...Oscar?!" he yelled, but there was no answer; she had hang up.

Oscar then sat down deep in her thoughts…"why should I get married? And to Girodere? I don´t want to get married at all." She had never really considered that marriage was a thing for her. She had always concentrated on her career. Especially after, what happened with him…

She still remembered him…

There was one time she had dated a boy-for two whole weeks. She had been in high school and fell in love with a Swedish exchange student called Hans von Fersen. They had started dating, but she soon discovered him cheating on her. After that she had sworn not to get involve with men again. Her dating with Fersen had been no more than kissing and holding each other´s hands, but she had been taking it seriously and his actions had broken her heart. "Never again" she had sworn.

She was still deep in her thoughts, thinking how to get rid of this unwanted situation with Girodere. She didn´t have time to think, when…

All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door. And before she could reply to that, general Dagout had stepped inside and now was standing in front of her desk.

"Yes?" she looked at him.

"We brought Sean Dumon to questioning yesterday, but he came out clean. We let him go"….He was holding a file in his hand…"There is his file." he handed it to Oscar.

"What do you mean? He came out clean? But that´s imp..."

"...impossible? No. We checked everything."

Oscar opened the file and looked at it…

"He has nothing to do with the thieves. He is just an honest French doctor."

"Doctor?"

"Yes, he is a military doctor…Living in Paris with his sister."

"I see…So he is not involved…But why…" she looked at Dagout.

Dagout shook his head:"I have no idea. Maybe…he is looking for a romance and saw you and…"

"But that is ridiculous!" she raised her voice. "How could he even have known that I was a woman?!"

"There´s something strange about this…" she said and then started to read his files…

Sean Dumon was a French citizen and just two years older than her. His parents had died in a car accident when he was still a young boy and he had been living together with his older sister ever since. He had never been in trouble before, and even thought he was from a poor family, he was able to enter into a university.

While studying hard at the university, he worked all his free time in order to pay his studies. He hadn´t even taken a loan. He had finished his doctoral studies with a fine grades, specializing in military health.

Dagout sneaked out while she was reading the file. She was so concentrated, that she didn´t notice that someone else had come into her office. It was the man in question…

"I´m glad that you find me so interesting" he said looking at her with his files. She was startled.

Oscar slammed the file on her desk and yelled:"What an Earth are you doing? Sneaking in like that?!"

Everyone else would have been intimidated by her reaction, but not Sean. In fact, Sean found it exciting, when Oscar got angry. Under the cool surface of Oscar´s attitude, there lied a deep and passionate inner side of her, that Sean loved so much.

He just smiled to her with his eyes shining radiantly. When Oscar noticed that, she calmed down and tried to ignore it. "Why is he like that?" she wondered.

"What do you want?"

"Well, your men brought me here yesterday and they were really nice to me. So, then I thought that I could come again and thank them..."

"Thank them?!" Not the words she had expected.

"I brought them coffee..."

"You really are something..." she sighed.

He smiled to her mysteriously and continued..."and now while I am here, I though that you wanted breakfast." He then gave her a big, paperback full of fresh baked bread, croissants, red apples and- of course- fresh and still hot French coffee. "Here you go. My sister baked these bread and croissants. She´s an excellent baker." he smiled to her.

Oscar looked at the back…"I cannot accept this." she tried to give it back to him.

"Why not?"

"Because…" in fact, she couldn´t come up with any excuses not to accept his breakfast.

"As you can see, I am not a gangster." he told her…"and I didn´t poison your breakfast" he tried to joke.

Then he took a croissant and took a bite to show her it was ok to eat it. "I´m still alive" he smiled.

Oscar smiled. She hadn´t smiled for a long time. This man was just...impossible.

She let her guard down just for a while, and then something unexpected happened...Before she could know it, He had grapped her into his embrace and started to kiss her...


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sean held her in his embrace and kissed her... She felt his passionate lips on hers ...Oscar was so stunned by this that she couldn´t move. She could only let him do what he wanted to...

She was so close to him, that she could even smell him. He smelled like roses...Somehow that scent reminded her of something...or someone? It was very familiar scent...His heart was beating fast, or was it hers? She couldn´t tell. ..."Wait, are you doing?" she thought. "You shouldn´t think something like this at the time like this." she told herself. Finally, she came to and started to push him away. She managed to slap him and he let go off her.

"Oscar, I´m sorry." He was surprised by his own actions.

She went near the window to the other side of the room and looked at him.

"Gosh! Are all French men like this?!" She was angry.

"Oscar...I´m sorry...I" he came closer to her again..."I don´t know..." he started but stopped in the middle of the sentence..."No, I do know why I did it. It´s because I have looked and waited for you all my life, and when I finally find you...I couldn´t control my feelings...I do apologize." he looked sad.

Oscar wasn´t able to say anything. She just stood still. She just watched him.

"I never meant to hurt you. I promise that I will never do that again...Oscar...I love you..."

"Stop it!" she raised her voice again. Why was he saying that? He didn´t even know her.

"Who is he?" he asked her.

"What? Who?" What was he talking about all of a sudden?

"The one who broke your heart"

"I don´t know what you´re talking about..." What? As if he could read her thoughts, but that was...impossible. It was that word again "impossible". Why was she always thinking of that word?

"You do, Oscar. There´s a man who broke your heart..." he said with a gentle but saddened voice..."Let me help you, Oscar..." he looked at her into her eyes..." I love you. I´ll never hurt you."

She walked to the door and opened the it..."You`d better leave"

There was a moment silence in the room before either of them could speak. It was Sean who broke the silence.

"I will..." he walked towards the door, and then stopped in front of her..."But I´m not going to abandon you, my love...Never." then he walked away.

She looked at him as he walked away. Somehow she couldn´t be angry with him. He was just...impossible.

Then she looked at her desk; her breakfast was still there; the paperback full of fresh baked bread, croissants, red apples and French coffee that Sean had brought her.

"I am quite hungry" she thought and walked towards her desk, sat down and opened the paperback. She took bread into the other hand and coffee into the other. It was delicious. She had never tasted better bread before. But of course, because it was hand made..."His sister is very skillful..." she thought.

"How would he know that apples are my favorite fruits?" She wondered and took a bite.…"What am I talking about?!" she thought angrily. She shouldn´t think things like that.

"I should concentrate on my work"

Few days past since the incident with Sean…

Oscar had continued her life as nothing had happened and Sean had kept his promise; He never touched her again just like he had said. He still came every morning to deliver her breakfast. It was always as fresh and delicious as it had been on the first day.

He kept coming, even when she had told him he didn´t have to…She never told him not to come. "If I don´t come, Oscar…then who will look after you?" he had replied.

Sean had already befriended with Oscar´s men and became like part of the team. They all seemed to like him even when they didn´t understand what Sean saw in their commander…Especially Alan, who was second in charge of the men there. Once he asked Sean…

"Why are you so in love with our commander? She is…very manly. Besides, I don´t think she´s interested in romances. She´s workaholic, you see."

"So, you think that I don´t have a chance with her?"

"I just wanted to warn you. If you get too involved with her, it´s not is said that her father is very strict, and he wouldn´t ever accept a…common man as yourself as her husband."

"But there is no class difference anymore!"He argued. Besides, he had always felt as if he had been in better position in his previous life, but…Why was he now only a poor man?

Alan laughed "Maybe not for you and me, but his father is too old fashioned. He would never accept a poor and a common man to his precious daughter."

Sean didn´t say anything to that. What could he say?

"There´s plenty fish in the sea..."

"Not for me."

"And then what do you do? Wait for her for...how long?"

"As long as it takes...Whatever it takes."

"You´re really going to ruin your life because of her?"

Sean smiled "Alan, you´ve obviously never been in love. Otherwise you wouldn´t say those things. Love is a wonderful thing..."

Sean didn´t noticed that _she_ was standing right behind him. For the whole time…

"Love?" she thought..."Why was he still...lying? Or could it be...real?" she wondered. Her thoughts about Sean had been softened. She had realized that he was quite nice. But love? No way. She didn´t even have time for that. Impossible.

"Sean…" she finally managed to say.

"Oscar!" he turned around.

"This is enough" she told him "I think you should leave."

"But Oscar!" he was surprised.

"Please" she cried "just leave"

Without saying anything he left. But he knew in his heart that she didn´t mean it. And so did she…She had started to feel something she shouldn't…She just wanted to concentrate on her case. That was all. She didn´t need anyone in her life.

"Why don´t you go after him"

"What?" Oscar was startled.

"You do care about him, don´t you?" Alain said.

"Just get back to work" she told him.

That night as she walked to her hotel, she thought about him. She knew she had done right, but…

Why was she feeling like this? Why did she think of his eyes? His smile?

Then, the next morning as Sean had come to apologize and was about to leave her office, Oscar asked him to stay…

"Take a seat, Sean. There´s something I need to ask you…"

"Alright." he agreed "I brought you breakfast"

"Let´s eat this together." She smiled. After having thought it over, she had come to the conclusion that there was something about Sean that made her trust him. As if she had known him before…

Sean smiled as he handed her drink"Try this…" he gave her the cup. He was always in a good mood. Even though she had been harsh on him.

"What is it?" it smelled so good.

"It´s hot chocolate. My sister´s recipe…"

"Really?!"

Sean nodded "When I told to my sister that I would bring it to you, she made it special. There´s some secret ingredient there…"

"What? You mean…Your sister knows about me?"She was surprised.

Sean smiled "Of course she does. I told her everything…"

"But…" she stood up and turned her back on him…"Sean…" she had hard time saying it:"You know that we´re not…"she blushed.

Sean knew exactly what she meant even without saying the words:"Yes, Oscar. I know." he said it with a gentle voice."It´s enough for me that I can see you, talk to you and…protect you. Just as you have protected me before, when I..." he stopped there.

Oscar felt suddenly overwhelmed by…emotions? No one had ever said anything like that to her…

Sean came towards her…"Oscar. Are you alright?" he seemed worried.

Oscar dried her wet eyes and turned around smiling."Sean." she said firmly…"There´s a job for you, if you´re interested…"


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Oscar showed Sean around the department. She had decided to hire him as a member of their team. Of course, Sean had promised not to make advances towards her. …"Oscar…" he had replied…"I love you with all my heart, but I am not going to push you. I…" he had looked straight into her eyes…"I want to protect you, and I understand if you´re not ready for…" She had said nothing to that. She just wasn´t ready for a relationship and she wasn´t looking for a romance. And he understood that. He would stay by her side as her friend.

"Alan. Sean Dumon..." she said…"... is a new member of our team investigating the thefts."

"I see…" he looked at Sean…"So, if a man confesses his love to our commander, he gets a job…"

"Alan!" she got angry.

"It´s alright." Sean turned to Alan…"I took this job only to protect her."

"Really?! Wow! What a dedication!" he turned towards Oscar…"So, he is willing to risk his life for you!"

Oscar walked away without saying anything. She was just too angry. Alan had always been like that; too straight. Sometimes even much too straight. But he was one of the best men of her unit.

"Well then, Sean. Let´s get started."

"Right."

"Welcome onboard!" everyone was congratulating him.

"Thank you everyone!" he replied.

"And what about your daily job at the army?"

"I´ve taken my summer leave now. So it´s alright."

"So you´re working even on your holidays!" they laughed.

He was now officially "part of the gang" as they had put it. They had given him a nickname "Commander´s rose lover"because he was always smelled of roses. Everyone had started to see him as natural part of her as if he was her shadow.

Paris that evening…

The sun had already set and the streetlights casted a shadow to everyone who walked pass. Although, almost everyone was already in bed. That is: almost. Rosalie had finished her daily job and was now walking towards her house. The streets seemed empty as she walked by, but little did she knew: there was a shadow following her…

She didn´t notice anything strange, when she entered her house. She turned on the lights as she went in. And all this time she was watched by that strange shadow…

What was he up to? And who was he?

At the same time in Oscar´s hotel room…

Oscar was sitting on her bed and wondering about the events that had occurred since she stepped on the French soil…

She had never expected things like that to turn out. That man…Sean…"I know him. I am certain of it." she thought. She needed to find out more, so she decided to call to her sister…

"But Oscar, what is the matter with you? Calling to me, and especially this time of a day? What has happened?" She knew that Oscar never called unless she had some urgent business.

Oscar didn´t want to explain it too much. She just asked if her sister knew Sean. Oscar had taken some pictures while she was at Versailles, and in one of them featured Sean as well.

"Oh my God!" she yelled, when she saw his picture. "What a gorgeous looking man!"

Oscar got nervous "I didn´t ask that. I simply asked, if you knew him!"

Hortensia got all excited "Is he a criminal that you search?"

"No…"

"A thief perhaps?!"

"No…" it was difficult for her not to shout at her sister.

"Then why are you asking about him?!"

"He…"

Hortensia was eager and didn´t let Oscar answer…"Oh no! Could it be, that my little sister has finally found herself a guy?!" she teased her.

Oscar blushed "No!" she yelled…"It´s…"she had no other choice, but to tell her that he claimed that he knew her. She didn´t tell anything about the proposal. Not that she was thinking about it, anyway. That was impossible...

"I see…Well, he doesn't seem familiar, but I´ll look into it and let you know. You doubt him, don´t you?"

"I am not sure…I don´t remember him, but he seems somewhat familiar. Maybe I have met him while I was still a child…"

"I promise, I will help you. Good night Oscar."

"Good night, and thank you."

Just as she had finished her phone call to her sister, her phone rang, again; this time it was her father.

"Hello father." she answered.

"Oscar. How things are going there?"

"The investigations are going fine." she only said. She wasn´t in the mood for given him a full detailed description of their progress, because she knew exactly that once the investigation was complete, she would have to go back to England. And she didn´t want to think about that, not at that moment.

" Gerodere is waitin..." he started, but Oscar interrupted him by asking something unexpected.

"Father, why don´t you ever talk about the times when our family still lived in France?"

"..." he didn´t know what to say.

"You´re always so keen on telling us of our forefathers in England, but they only came there during the French Revolution. But what about before that?"

" Oscar...I..." he sounded very uneasy..."Oh, look at the time! It´s late already and you should get to sleep so that you can wake up fresh in the morning and solve the case..."

"But father..." she tried to stop him.

"Good night"

This time it was her father who hang up. "What was that all about?" she wondered. The feeling of her father hiding things from their past became stronger than ever...

Oscar went to sleep that night still thinking about these strange events, that had occurred. Not only that, she also had a problem with her father. She was going to get away with her enforced engagement somehow…But right now, she had to concentrate on catching the thieves at Versailles Palace…


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Couple of days had passed by while Oscar and her team were planning to catch the thieves; they had all planned it out: They would catch them in the action. That was the best way, but also the most dangerous one. It was very dangerous job, because the thieves were highly professional and they wouldn´t hesitate to use violence when caught red handed. But that also meant that Oscar and her men would have to patrol the Versailles every night hoping that the thieves would come.

At the same time Sean had sworn to stay by Oscar´s side and to protect her, but fate had a different plan... When one day, an unexpected visitor came to the police department…

Oscar was sitting beside her desk reading some papers, while her door slammed open. As she raised her gaze to the intruder, she was surprised. She hadn t expected that. And by her disappointment, it was Gerodere.

"Not now" she thought. She had enough problems already. She had to concentrate on her mission.

"Oscar! My Oscar François! I´ve missed you!" he walked towards her desk.

"What is it? Can´t you see I´m busy."

" Can´t you spare a moment to your fiancé? We haven´t met for a while."

"First of all, you are not my fiancé! And second of all, I am in a middle of an important job, so if you don´t mind, I would like to be alone." She was about to lose her nerves.

"But Oscar, my dear…" he didn't have a chance to continue, when he noticed a man standing at Oscar´s door.

It was Sean.

"Is he bothering you? Should I throw him out?" he asked.

Oscar looked at Gerodere…"Well?" she asked him.

"I see. So, you have your own bodyguard, now? Don´t you?"

She didn´t answer to that, but looked at him with her angry eyes.

He didn´t have any other choices, but to leave. On his way out, he looked at Sean with a suspicious look on his face. There was something about that man, that Gerodere didn´t like. His suspicious became real, when he heard men whispering in the corridor…

"Do you think that there´s something going on between the commander and Sean?" one man asked the other…

"I don´t know, but he did propose to her and he is in love with her…" the other man replied.

"And now he is her right hand…"

"Commander´s lover" they laughed.

That was it; Now Gerodere was angry. That man was wheedling with his fiancée. He had to do something to stop it. So, he left the department in a hurry…Only to make few phone calls. He thanked his luck, that his family had influence in France. It was easy for him to arrange some troubles to Sean…

Meanwhile Sean walked towards Oscar…

"Oscar, are you okay?" he was concerned.

"Thank you, Sean. I couldn´t have dealt with him right now…"

"Who is he?" He was curious.

"He is the man my father wants me to marry."

Sean looked sad and surprised"But you can´t marry him!" he said in a desperate voice.

"I´m not going to. I just have to figure the way out of it. That´s all."

"If there´s anything I can do, just tell me." he said. Was there another man after Oscar? But of course there was. Why wouldn´t there be? After all, she was amazing woman. And of course, this other man was probably rich and had a good family background. How could he ever compete with this guy? Sean felt like he was choking...

She just looked at him and thanked him. She knew exactly how painful it was for Sean, because she had felt that kind of feelings a long time ago, when she had witnessed Fersen with another girl.

"I need to continue my work" she told him. That was a cue for him to leave. And he did. As a gentleman. They both continued working as if nothing had happened.

And that evening passed as usual; there were no troubles to be found and Oscar was relieved…But unfortunately, the relieve was only temporary…

On the next morning Oscar went to her work as usual; she greeted her men and stepped into her own office. It was then, when she realized that Sean wasn´t there. She turned back and saw, that his desk was empty. Then she walked back into her room and looked at her own desk. It was empty; the breakfast he used to bring to Oscar, wasn´t there.

"Where is he?" she thought.

"Is there something wrong, commander?" Alain asked.

"Sean" she answered "Where is he?"

Oscar got worried and so did the rest of the team. Even though Sean hadn´t been there for a long time, somehow they all had gotten to like him. Even Alan thought it was odd for Sean just to leave without saying a word. It wasn´t like him.

…First they tried to find him inside the building, but he was nowhere to be found; he wasn´t at the office or anywhere nearby, nor did he answer his cell phone…

"Alright" she said "I´m going to go out to look for him" she said and left the building.

Oscar went to all those places where she knew Sean had been: his workplace, his former university, everywhere he had ever been, even in the supermarket where he used to visit often. But no one knew what had happened to him.

Oscar was sad, because she had accustomed to be with Sean every day… She hadn´t realised just how much she had relied on him…To talk to him, to have breakfast with him, to walk with him…even to argue with him. Somehow, Sean was the one she could really trust…

"Sean" she cried..."Sean!"

A few days passed, but there was still no sign of him. Then, on the evening before going to Versailles on their mission to catch the thieves…

Oscar was in her office. She was just sitting, and…worrying, when Rosalie stepped in. She had heard about Sean´s disappearance and was now eager to help. "Thank you, Rosalie" Oscar had said…"But there really isn´t anything…"

"But Lady Oscar, there has to be something!"

She sat down in front of Oscar and they thought together…

"What does his sister say? Does she have any idea of his whereabouts?!"

Oscar raised her head. Why she hasn´t thought about that before? Of course Sean had a sister and she should go to her…Oscar got up and rushed to the door. "Thank you, Rosalie. I am going to see his sister!"

Rosalie stood up from her chair:"Lady Oscar! I…" Oscar was now putting on her coat, when Rosalie said "I want to help you catch the thieves, so I am coming along to Versailles!"

Oscar looked at her surprised:"But Rosalie! That´s too dangerous!"

"I am going with you! That´s settled!" she argued.

Usually Oscar wouldn´t leave their discussion like this, but now she was in a hurry to see Sean´s sister. She rushed out of the door into the street.

She found the place right away: It was a small bakery café, with apartments above it. She rang the doorbell and heard someone rushing to the door.

A youngish woman opened the door…"Sean!" she yelled, but she was disappointed-at first. Then the woman looked at Oscar with surprised look on her face…

"Oh my God! You`re real!" She shouted and took Oscar into her embrace. She cried…"Oh mademoiselle Oscar! You are real! You are real after all!"


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Oscar was sitting beside a dinner table eating delicious apple pie and buns that Sean´s sister Marie had baked. "Would Mademoiselle like some more tea?" Marie asked her.

Oscar smiled "Thank you, I´d love to. To be honest, I`ve never liked tea before, but your lemon tea is just so delicious."

"Oh, thank you, mademoiselle."

They were looking at some old pictures, pictures of Sean when he was younger. His sister told her about his childhood; how he used to have an imaginary friend, who followed him everywhere…

"He called him Oscar…" then she showed her some drawings of this "Oscar"

"Oscar?!" She looked at the picture with a blond character riding on a beautiful, white horse…

Marie tried to smile…"Yes, I know. His imaginary guardian was a blond young man named Oscar…"she explained…"Only later Sean discovered that this man was actually a woman…"

Oscar listened to her stories without saying anything. Sean hasn´t been lying, when he told he knew her…

Marie poured more tea into Oscar´s cup and then continued "Then, sometime ago, he told me about you. And how you met. First, I couldn´t believe, that you were real. But, then…I was just so surprised to know that his imaginary friend was real!" tears came flowing down her cheeks.

"Friend?"

"Yes. A friend and a guardian. My brother sometimes dreamed of being a rich boy with a beautiful guardian, who would both protect him and be his friend." Marie smiled.

"I, too, had an imaginary friend…" she explained."I thought it was because I never had a brother…but now…I´m not sure…" she was deeply touched and confused.

Marie looked at Oscar and asked her "What was he like?"

"I´ve always wanted to be a knight, who would travel around the world and save people. I used to imagine a friend. He was the one, who always followed me and helped me, when I needed…"

"That sounds just like Sean…"

Oscar wanted to change the subject…

"Why did he became a doctor?"

"He told me, that his imaginary friend was in military and he wanted to help her…you. He became a doctor, so that he could be useful to you."

Oscar shed some tears…"He did that just because of me?"

Marie just nodded.

That was it. Marie´s stories really explained a lot. Oscar now knew how important Sean was, to his sister and…

Oscar didn´t have to think more; she knew exactly what to do. She took Marie´s hand into hers and comforted her "I will find Sean and bring him back safely. I promise you that."

"Thank you"

Then Oscar´s phone rang. "I´m sorry." she got up

"I need to take this" She apologized and answered her phone. It was her father…

"Hello, father."

"Is everything fine?"

"I…" she sounded somehow worried "Look, I´m in a bad spot. Can I call you later?"

"I see, you´re upset. No wonder. Nasty thing that one" he answered.

"Excuse me?" Oscar was astounded. What an Earth was her father talking about?

"I heard about that harassment. Thank goodness he is behind bars. But are you doing fine? He didn´t hurt you, did he?"

Oscar was surprised…"Father, what are you talking about?" She wiped her wet eyes with her hands.

"The man, who has been harassing you."

"But there is no man…" then she got it; someone must have been telling lies about Sean…

"Father, what´s his name?" she wanted to be sure.

"Oh…" he sounded a little angry "Some Sean…something. What does it matter, anyway? He´s behind bars"

"Who told you about this?!"

"Does it really matter? As long as you´re safe…"

"It does matter! Tell me! Tell me, who told you and what happened to the man?!" she insisted.

"It was Gerodere, who called me right away. He was concerned…"

"Of course, I might as well known, it was Gerodere" she thought. "Where is the man?!" she asked her father.

" He is in prison, of course. Downtown…Oscar! Oscar!"

But she didn´t reply, she had hang up, again.

"I just found your brother" she told Marie.

"Where?! What has happened?!"

Oscar didn´t answer. All she did was that she told Marie not to worry and then she hurried to Sean. She ran all the way to the prison.

Soon she found him in one of the cells. And when their eyes met…

"Oscar!"

"Sean!" she ran towards him. She was happy to find him in good condition. And she felt relieved. But Sean was very anxious…

Sean embraced Oscar´s hand. "Please, Oscar. Let me out of here."

"I am sorry about this, Sean. It was Gerodere, who lied about you harassing me. It is why you are now here…"

"It doesn´t matter. But just let me out of here." he urged.

"I can´t. I can´t do anything. At least not in this evening. I have to make a few phone calls, but it´s already too late. You will have to spend one more night in here, I am afraid. I will make those calls first thing in the morning and convince the judge that you were innocent…"she tried to convince him, but without success.

Sean interrupted her "But it will be too late!" he panicked.

"What are you talking about?"

"You are going to the Versailles this night, aren´t you?"

"Yes."

"I have a bad feeling about this…"

"Don´t worry, Sean. I´m sure that nothing will happen" she sighed "again"

"But they will come tonight"

"You don´t know that. And even if they did, there´s lots of us and we are prepared…"

"No, Oscar! Don´t go there! Not tonight! I believe that you are in danger!"

"I have no choice. Besides, I knew the risks when I chose this carrier." she tried to calm him down, without success.

"Please, my love! Don´t go there…not without me!"

Oscar let go of his hand…"I am sorry Sean, but I have to go. In the morning I will help you to get out of here. I will talk with a judge and you will be a free man, again" Then she walked away.

"Oscar!" he yelled…He was worried, because somehow he knew, that something bad was about to happen this night…


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A shadow watched Oscar as she left the prison building. In fact, it was the same shadow that had been following Rosalie before. He had been keeping a close eye on her, and now he seemed to be interested in the captain…

But this time he didn´t go after Oscar…

He had other plans…

He took a rope from his pocket, attached it to a hook and threw it up, towards the ceiling of the prison building. The hook attached to it immediately. Luckily, the building wasn´t too high, and it was easy for him to climb up. And soon he was inside of the prison. Now he only had to sneak his way into the prison cells…

Meanwhile Sean had made his getaway plan and already had put that into action…His act was simple, but effective: He was lying on the floor yelling and holding his chest. "It hurts!" pretending to be sick.

And it work.

The guard came quickly "What´s the matter?" he asked and opened the prison cell.

"It hurts! My heart!" Sean moaned.

"Hold still!" he answered and kneeled towards him.

But while he was attending Sean, he was hit at the back of his neck and he fell to the floor. Then Sean quickly got up and was about to take the keys, when he heard someone saying…"That was a nice hit. Even I couldn´t do better." Sean turned to look, and he saw a man wearing a mask.

"Who are you? And how did you get in?"

"I am the Black Knight…"

Sean was surprised "The Black Knight?! But you´ re in that jewel gang, aren´t you?"

"I used to be, until this evening. I came here to warn you; they know about your commander´s plan and they are going to attack them."

"What?! We have to hurry! Oscar is just going there!" he stepped outside of his cell and locked it with the guard inside.

Sean then stopped "Wait a minute! How can I trust you?" he was suspicious.

"I see…I think that we are similar…"he explained.

"What way is that?"

"We both would do anything for the sake of the woman we love."

"You mean…"

"I don´t know her name, but the first time I saw her at Versailles, I knew…"

"You´re talking about Rosalie?"

"Is that her name? No matter, we have to hurry!"

The two men climbed up to the prison roof and then to freedom, only to hurry to save the women of their dreams…

In the meantime at Versailles…

Oscar and her men had taken their positions and were now waiting for the thieves to show up. Rosalie was waiting near the entrance, where Oscar thought she would be safe. The clock was ticking and ticking, but no one came. The troops started to be a little tired. But just then, they heard noises coming from the roof. It was no other than them; the thieves. They had finally arrived.

But Oscar had to be patient; she needed to catch them in the act; that´s why she was going to wait until the thieves had taken the crown jewels…

While the thieves were busy putting the jewels away, Oscar sneaked behind them. She took her pistol and was about to point it towards them, when…

A sudden flash of light hit Oscar´s eyes and she couldn´t see anything for a moment. It was then, when one of the thieves had her as his target. He raised his gun and shot….

Right at that moment, Oscar felt someone pushing her aside, and soon afterwards she heard a gunshot. It was difficult to see, because it was so dark, but she could hear someone falling to the ground. She yelled to her men to turn on the lights and get the thieves. Then, while others were struggling with the thieves, Oscar saw the person that had saved her: It was Sean. He was lying on the ground with a shot wound on his chest.

"Sean!" she cried and rushed towards him. The tears came flowing down, when she realized that Sean was seriously wounded. She took his hand into hers.

Sean looked at her and smiled "Thank God it wasn´t you, who got wounded."

After saying those words, he passed out. Oscar was in shock…It was then, when Bernard came to her…

"Commander. I called the ambulance. They should be here any minute now." he said to her trying to calm her down. She felt so powerless right now.

"Sean"

Soon, the scene was over. The thieves had been arrested and the ambulance had come for Sean. "He was lucky, that the bullet missed his vital organs. After a surgery, he should recover fully." they had said to Oscar.

Bernard took Rosalie to her house and guarded her there, while Oscar went to the hospital with Sean.

While Sean was been operated, Oscar was standing in a hallway thinking, and crying, about him. She was deep in her thoughts. He had saved her life, and almost lost his own. She didn´t know, what she would have done, if she had lost him. It was her, who had fell into a trap…it was her, who hadn´t listened to his warnings…and it was her, whose fault it was that he now lied in an operation table…She blamed herself…

"Sean…"

"Will be alright."

Oscar turned to look; it was Marie, Sean´s sister. When Oscar she her, she immediately rushed into her arms and cried. "I´m so sorry" she cried. "I promised I would protect him…"

"It´s alright" They cried together, although Marie tried to convince her, that it wasn´t her fault.

Hours passed by slowly, but their patience was rewarded: the doctor came to tell them that Sean was doing fine and the operation went well. They were both relieved. And soon they would be able to see him…

A couple of days later...

Oscar was visiting Sean again. He was still very tired, but happy that Oscar was there beside him. He tried to be cheerful...He was imitating one of his favorite jokes and all got started because Oscar had brought him some fresh fruits...

"Now, self defence...Tonight we carry on where we got to last week, when I was showing you how to defend yourself against anyone who attacks armed with a piece of fresh fruit." He was all in the act imitating not only the words, but also the tone of John Cleese´s voice...

Oscar remembered that skecth as well..."you promised you wouldnt do fruit this week" and wanted to act along. They were both acting it passionately, and for awhile they seemed to forget all about their worries. They seemed to have a good time together and they both laughed at the sketch.

Oscar laughed "I can´t believe that we both liked the same skecth! It was one of my favorite when I was a kid!"

" I know, Oscar" he smiled and then carried on with the skecth:"...and then I eat the banana!" then, he really ate the banana he was holding. He wasn´t just crazy about food, but also he liked to play with his food.

Oscar was laughing.

Sean looked at Oscar the way a lover looked at his woman. He was happy that he was able to make Oscar laugh.

Then, all of a sudden, Oscar became serious and started...

"Fersen..."

"What?!"

Oscar smiled "You asked me once before, who broke my heart...I´ve never told this to anyone."

Somehow, Oscar felt as she could trust him completely. She didn´t know why, but something had changed inside her...That night she told him everything.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Oscar was facing a man she despised; he was the one in the force, who had informed the thieves about their movements. He was the mole of the worst kind…

"Because of your actions Sean is now lying on hospital bed!" she was furious. She was so furious, that she couldn´t control herself, but instead she hit him hard. After he fell on to the ground, Oscar´s men came and took him away. He was going to be sentenced in prison for a long time.

"Take him away from my sight!" she yelled angrily.

"Commander…"

She turned away towards the window. She tried to calm down.

Alan came to her…"Congratulations, commander. You have caught the thieves."

"Then why don´t I feel good?" she wondered.

"Because now you can go back to England…"

"What?...oh, yes…"

England? Yes, of course, to England…Now that her mission was over, she was supposed to return to England, but…A lot of things had happened since she arrived in France. Too much even…She still wanted to talk with Bernard and hear his side of the story. Even though he had been part of the gang, he still had saved her live. She just wanted to know everything.

And then was something else; this thing with Sean. Why did he act the way he did? And why her father was so against him? Surely it wasn´t just because Sean wasn´t wealthy. As if he was hiding something…

And then there was herself…Somehow she was changed…She didn´t want to go back to England anymore…

Oscar turned towards Alan…"Do you like it here in Paris?"

"Why…of course I do!" he was thinking about a certain young woman he had just met, Dianne. His eyes were shining, when he thought about her.

"Would you like to stay?"

Alan was excited "Yes, commander!"

Oscar laughed "Good! Because I am staying, and it would have been too bad if I had to lose a talented man like you."

"So you are staying…Is it because of Sean?"

Oscar blushed…"Speaking of him…I´m going to the hospital to see him." she avoided answering his question.

Alan watched, while Oscar hurried to the street…he laughed…"That´s the way, Sean. I think you caught her!"

At the hospital…

Sean was sitting on his bed, when Oscar came to see him.

"Sean!" she smiled, peeking behind the door.

"Oscar!" he smiled back to her. "Come in!"

She sat on his bed staring at him…Gosh, he was handsome. His eyes were like two blue jewels that shined so brightly, when their gaze met. And his lips…oh, how much she wanted to ki…"No! Oscar! What are you doing!" she thought to herself.

"Is something wrong?"

Oscar smiled and shook her head:"Nothing!" then she gave him the back she had brought with her. "I bought you some apples…and chocolate" she said.

Sean took the back and thanked her. Then he looked at her, somehow she had changed…He was worried about her.

"Oscar, is something bothering you?"

Oscar got up and walked to the window…she tried to hide her nervousness…She was thinking the time when Sean had kissed her. His lips had felt so passioned against hers...Now that she thought about it, no one had ever kissed her like that...She smiled.

"I´ve decided to stay in Paris." she said suddenly.

Sean was very happy "Oscar! That´s great news!"

Oscar smiled "It is. I…" she was troubled…There was something on her mind, but it was difficult for her to say it. This was her first time ever to…

"Then I can bring you my sister´s bakings and fresh chocolate every morning! I will work together with you, and I will help you to find apartment somewh…"

Oscar interrupted him:"I want you to look into something…"

Sean stopped "look into what?" he was confused.

Oscar explained how her father never told her anything about France, although they had been living there for centuries. She was sure that he was hiding something, but what?

Sean smiled "Of course. I´ll help you any way I can" his voice was very gentle…"I meant every word…I ´ll be by your side, always"

Oscar turned towards the window again and just listened. Her heart beat fast as she listened to his sweet words…

"I have loved you all my life, sometimes wondering if you really exist… But I never gave up hope. I travelled through the world to find you, and yet I found you here in Paris…in my hometown. I´ve dreamed about you being together with me…I…" he was going to continue, when…

"Thank you…Sean" she looked at him, smiling shyly.

Sean smiled back to her.

"My answer is…yes…" she was all red…."I will let you help me" she said quietly

Sean was so surprised and happy…Was this really true? Did Oscar really answer ´yes`? He had never expected this…

"Oscar!" he yelled happily.

"I need to go now" she interrupted his happy thought.

"Alright" he answered.

Right that moment she felt her heart jumping madly. She remembered the time when he had taken her into his arms and kissed her. His lips had been so pliant and his arms were so warm…tears started to fall down on her cheeks, she just couldn´t help it. The moment was so sensitive and so…beautiful. She knew now, that this man was the one for her…he was her destiny, and she would spend the rest of her life with him. She didn´t care if her father disapproved. Even though he wasn´t rich, she could think of spending time with him…It wasn´t about the money, but about being able to life together with someone dear to you…

But when did she start to have these feeling? It must have been that moment, when Sean had been shot…At that moment she knew, that she loved him. Even the thought of losing him made her feel pain…It was then she decided to take her destiny into her own hands…


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Few days had passed since Oscar had visited Sean. Ever since then she had been busy; she had started to arrange her new life in France. And the first thing she did was to apply for a job. And before she even knew it, they invited her to an interview…

"Congratulations!" said the man in front of Oscar after the interview was over.

"You´ve got the job!" and shook her hand.

Oscar was happy to hear that, she had applied for a job …and got it. And it was her dream job, too.

"You really have a remarkable resume. …I´ve never seen anything like this…" he complemented her.

"Thank you…"

After leaving the building, Oscar headed back to the hospital to visit Sean and tell him the good news. And that wasn´t all, ...she had decided to finally introduce Sean to her mother and sisters.

Oscar sat down next to Sean, put her laptop on the bed and started a videocall to her mother...

And after changing greetings, she introduced Sean as her boyfriend. All her sisters were there too...

"Mother...sisters..." she blushed "This is Sean Dumon...my…boyfriend."

They were all amazed by the news. They couldn´t believe, that Oscar-who had always said that love was just nonsense and that _she_ would always stay single-had found herself a guy and was madly in love...

"It´s an honor to finally meet you, Madam de Jarjayes, Hortensia, Rose, Violet, Camelia and Chrysanteum..."he said all their names. They were surprised that he could remember them all..."Oscar has told so much about you. " he explained. Then he took Oscar into his arms and continued "I am happy to have met your daughter -and sister- Oscar. I fell in love with her right away and the time we have spent together have just made the feeling stronger...I am the happiest man on Earth ..."

"Oh my God! He is so romantic!" Hortensia yelled.

Madame de Jarjayes "Likewise, Sean. It´s nice to meet you. I´m so happy to know that my daughter has found a man, with whom she wants to share everything."

"Mother..." she was happy to hear those words.

Madame de Jarjeyes "Sean, will you promise to take care of my daughter?"

"I promise. I will protect her and love her with all my being."

"Where did you meet?"

"At Versailles..."

"Why do you love our sister so much? Isn´t she a bit of...stubborn?"

Sean laughed "That she is alright! But that´s what I love about her. And her constant desire to help others"

"Why are you in hospital?"

"Stop teasing him!" Oscar interrupted.

"It´s alright, Oscar. We were at Versailles to stop jewel thieves one night, and one of them shot..."

"How terrible!"

"I´m feeling fine now. And soon I´ll be able to get out of here."

"Anyway," Oscar interrupted, again " I have some other news to tell yous as well... I aplied for a new job here in Paris and..." she smiled..."I got it! I´m going to stay here with Sean..."

"Congratulations, Oscar!" they yelled. They were so happy for her.

"We wish you luck"

But Madame de Jarjeyes quickly added "Oscar, I will try to talk to your father about this, but I´m afraid he might not accept this..."

"But we´ll support you two!" yelled the sisters.

"Thank you!" both Oscar and Sean said.

After finishing the video call to her family, Oscar spent a few moments with Sean before leaving. "I still have things to do" she explained.

"Alright" he smiled "but aren´t you forgetting something?"

"What?"

"A kiss?"

She got all red, but went towards him and…

Gosh, how wonderful it was. His lips…how could she ever get enough…

And when their lips departed, he smiled to her with his blue shining eyes. The eyes of a man in love.

"Bye" she managed to say and then ran outside. She didn´t stop, but just ran. And ran. But as soon as she was out, she stopped to breath.

She smiled.

And after that, she continued. She needed to return to her hotel.

But on her way back to her hotel she saw a very distressful young woman…

Dianne was walking near the baluster of the bridge. She was nervous, but she was going to do it anyway; there was no point in her life anymore…So, she took her shoes off…

"I can do this…" she thought and climb onto the baluster. While she was standing there, she looked down. It was quite the fall.

"Oh my. That´s quite the distance…" Dianne heard someone saying. She turned her head to look: it was a beautiful blond man leaning towards the baluster. He looked like a Greek god…

"You are a very pretty young woman, but when you jump…Ooh!" she said and looked down…"All your insides will come out…your brains will be smashed and spread all over…"

Dianne started to cry…The words were so awful…How could he say something like that?!

"I would use poison…It is cleaner…"

For awhile they both stayed silent. They were just staring at each other.

That strange young man had certainly killed her desire to jump. His words were just so…disgusting. Now, she could never think of jumping off like that…

Dianne game down crying, and Oscar took her into her arms…"Now now…What made you decide to do something so horrible?" she asked her.

"He…he left me!" he cried.

"That´s terrible…but it´s not the end of the world." she tried to comfort her…"I too had experienced that, but I never considered suicide. He cheated on me, and it took me years to get over him, but now…I am very happy…"

"He wasn´t the one for me, I realize it now"

Dianne was surprised "You…are a woman?"

"Yes…" she looked right into Dianne´ eyes and smiled gently.

"Of course you are. You´re too beautiful to be a man."

"What´s your name? Do you have anywhere to go to?"

Dianne wiped her tears away "My name is Dianne…" she replied…"No, I can´t face my mother right now…"

"Then it´s settled; my boyfriend´s sister owns a bakery café and she need an assistant."

"You´re dating?"

"Yes, with a most wonderful man. Much better than the last one."

"Really?"

"Hmm" she smiled. "There are many bad men in this world, but luckily; also good ones, too."

Then they started to walk towards the bakery café…

"I told you, that eventually everything will turn to be just fine." Oscar said to Dianne as they walked together…

But Oscar had no idea of what her father would do, when he would find out about her new boyfriend…

Meanwhile…

The general got a phone call from Gerodero, who said that Oscar has found a man for herself.

"What are you talking about?!"

"That Sean…who we tried to imprison, has now enchanted your daughter…"

"What?!"

Not only that Sean was a commoner and poor, but there was also something else…Something else that really made the general hate him…

"I will do everything I can to stop their plans!"


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The next morning Oscar went to see Bernard, just as she had promised. He was in prison in the same building where Sean had previously been.

"Sorry, Bernard, but you still need to face charges against you concerning those burglaries" she told him.

"I know" he said with a calm voice. "I did things I shouldn´t have, and I need to pay for that"

"But I will talk to the judge for you. After all, you saved my life" she thanked him.

"Don´t thank me. It´s just that my buddies went too far and I couldn´t accept that. I could never hurt anyone, you know" he explained.

"…"

"I will testify against them" he broke the silence.

"Good" she just said. Now she felt much better, knowing that Bernard really meant what he said. He seemed to be genuine sorry for his actions. "See you in court, then" she said and left.

After leaving the prison she headed for her new job, but as she walked into the building, the guard denied her access. She was astonished. "Why won´t you let me in?! I work here!" she yelled.

"I´m sorry, but there has being a change of plans…"

"Excuse me?!"

"We are very sorry…"

"You´re sorry?!" she yelled.

"Yes, but…" he said that she could not work there after all.

Oscar got angry "why?! Your boss told me that I was the best candidate!"

"Yes, I know…I´m terribly sorry, but…"

"Is it because of my father?!"

"Well…"

What else could it be? The man had been excited having Oscar in his team, so why would he all of the sudden broke his promise? Unless someone had mingled with it…

"Say it right to my face!"

"Yes, he called us and…"

There was no need for him to carry on any further. She knew: It was because of her father. He had interfered in her affairs. Even though he lived in England, he still had power in his hands; he was a well-known figure and respected member of a certain society within France.

"I´m terribly sorry…"

Oscar stared at him with an angry look on her face, and then-without saying anything- she walked out of there…

"I´m not letting this go so easily" she thought to herself.

Oscar took her phone out of her pocket and immediately phoned her father, who did admit that he was the one who had phoned her new boss and told him they couldn´t hire her. That made Oscar so angry. What right did her father have so that he could interfere in her life like that?! She already had her suspicions on his motives, but she wanted to hear it from himself. Her father only said that he would not accept her new boyfriend, "because he has neither rank nor fortune!"

"We don´t live in the dark ages, anymore! I can do whatever I want! I will marry him one day and there´s nothing you can do about it! I don´t need your permission! You don´t own me!" she yelled angrily.

"I am a free woman"

She had never thought she would say that: a woman. But she was a woman. An independent woman. Only that she hadn´t thought about it for a long time. She had only hidden her feelings deep inside her. But now she was ready…

To live as a woman.

"Father…" she started. There was determination in her voice.

"I will stay here, in France and I will marry Sean one day, because I love him. If you don´t accept that, that´s fine. It´s your problem, not mine."

"If you do that, if you don´t break up with him, I will make sure that you will not be able to get a job anywhere. And also I will cancel all your credit cards and nullify your bank account!"

" Do that! I don´t care! I will marry him and stay here in France!"

Then she hung up.

She was astounded. How could her own father behave like that?! Did he really think that rich people are better, and that they should only marry amongst themselves?!

"In that case, I don´t want to be one of them" she sighed.

Anyway, she needed to go back to her hotel to think things over. She needed a new job. But first she needed a good, relaxing bath.

But as soon as Oscar arrived at her hotel, she was stopped at the lobby. The clerk asked if she could pay her bill right then. Apparently there were some problems with her credit card.

"Father didn´t waste any time now, did he…" she thought and paid the bill.

"I want to check out" she told him.

"But mademoiselle, your reservation is still…"

Valid? Yes, she knew that. But now she didn´t have that much money. And she needed to find cheaper place to stay.

"I´ll check out now" she insisted.

"Yes, mademoiselle." he agreed "We are terrible sorry for the inconvenience…" he told her. And she understood; of course they needed to get their money.

Oscar got out of the hotel carrying her luggage, and thinking where she could go on this short notice. She was so focused on her worries and she didn´t notice that someone was there waiting for her…

That someone was no other than Gerodero , a man she had rejected. "Oscar" he shouted and walked towards her.

"Now what do you want?" she asked him with rather annoying tone in her voice. First she was denied from her new job, then she had to move out of her hotel and now…This was definitely not her best day.

"Say you will come with me"

"Where?"

"To my hotel…"

"What the hell do you think I am?!"

"Don´t give me that look! All I want is to celebrate our engagement" he tried to convince her.

"I am sorry, Gerodore" she said "but it´s over. In fact; it never even began. I will not get engaged with you, and most certainly I will not marry you."

Then, all of a sudden, he grabbed her into his arms and tried to kiss her…


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Oscar struggled with Gerodero. And although he was a man, Oscar had her ways. She was not defenseless. Oh no. Not at all.

"Ouch!" he yelled.

Gerodero collapsed onto the pavement with a sudden pain between his legs. He could hardly utter a word, only held his hand on the place she had kicked him.

"Hah!" she shouted "There you have it! Never attack on a woman like that!"

He just shook his head. Trying to stop tears coming from his eyes. This was indeed a lesson to him. A painful one.

"Oscar…I´m sorry…I never meant to…"

"I hope so. I hope you learned your lesson. I will never marry you, no matter how hard you try." She told him, and then she turned around. Oscar took her luggage and started to walk away. So, that Gerodero was left all on his own.

Oscar had walked as fast as she could, and now she was far away from Gerodero as possible. Only now she realized how far she had gone. She stopped to think about her future. And where to find a place to stay.

After considering her options, she decided to go to Marie. For the night, anyway. Tomorrow she would start to look for a place for herself.

Marie´s place wasn´t that far away, and the weather was good, too. Even though all the bad things that had happened to her today, she was optimistic. She felt as this was the first time she had felt so free and…

"Lady Oscar!" she heard someone calling her name.

As she turned around, she saw Rosalie.

"Rosalie! Where do you come from at this time of night?" she was delighted to see her friend.

"I was in movies with my friends. We just departed." she explained.

"You´re going home?"

"Yes"

"I´ll escort you."

"Oh, thank you, Lady Oscar, but you really don´t need to."

"But I want to."

"And please, call me Oscar"

Rosalie was happy to hear that. Even though they hadn´t known each other long, she felt as lady Oscar was someone she could trust. And admire.

On her way to Rosalie´s home they talked about Bernard. Rosalie seemed to be very devastated by the fact that he had been part of the jewel thieves. She said she would never speak to Bernard again. "Never!" she yelled.

"Poor Bernard" Oscar though. She knew just how much he liked Rosalie.

"But let´s talk about something else" Rosalie wanted to change the subject.

"Ok" Oscar agreed. There wasn´t really anything she could do for Bernard, after all he was the one, who got himself into the mess, in the first place. Or was there? Maybe if…Oscar came up with a crazy idea, that just might work. That is, if she still had some influence on matters concerning her work, which she obviously didn´t. Thanks to her father.

Oscar decided not to share her crazy idea. It would probably never work and Rosalie would only get more disappointed. There was no need to upset her more. Instead, Oscar mentioned that she was looking for an apartment.

"Oh, you can come to live in my home" Rosalie made an offer.

"Thank you, Rosalie. But I think I can manage." Oscar answered. And after having said that, they realized that they were at Rosalie´s front door.

"Well, goodnight Rosalie"

"Good night, la…I mean Oscar"

After having escorted Rosalie back to her home, Oscar continued alone towards Marie´s place. On her way there, her phone suddenly rang. It was Hortensia.

"Hi" she greeted "I´ve got some news for you"

Hortensia told Oscar that she had looked into the matter of what Oscar had asked her. She was quite certain that they had never met this Sean before. But Oscar already knew that. Her sister just made her more convinced that there was something else in this matter. And why their father never spoke about their family history in France? Every time she had tried to bring the matter up, he had always found some excuse to avoid it.

And why this strange blond man was so familiar to her? Sean X.F. Dumon…"X.? F?" she thought. Now that she recalled, she remembered seen those initials in his file, but…Why only now she came to think about those? And why there were only the initials? Why not the whole names? It didn´t make any sense. Unless he wanted to hide his names…But why?

"Oscar? Are you still there?" Hortensia got worried.

"Oh, sorry…" Oscar answered "Yeah, I´m here. I was just thinking…"

"About what?"

"X.F…"

"X.F?"

"No, it´s probably nothing…"

"You know, Oscar…" her sister started to think "Those letters reminds me of something…"

"What?" Oscar was startled. Why on Earth her sister would know about those?

"I remember as a kid I used to play in the attic…"

"But our father always told us not to go there. And with the voice no one would dare to disobey…"

"Yes, I know. But only after the _incident_…"

"What incident?!" Oscar was curious.

"It happened before you were born…

Hortensia started to share her story of her childhood…

… one night, me and Kamelia went to the attic to play. We had waited for the night to come, so that it would be even spookier then. Because we had thought that in the midst of all the old things, there must be a ghost…" she interrupted" Well, you know: kids"

"Yeah…And then?"

"We were right: There were lots and lots of stuff: it was full of suitcases, chests and boxes. We opened one of the chests…" she paused for awhile. Hmm…Now, why did they had opened that particular chest? "…Oh, yes!" she suddenly remembered "we were interested in it, because of the dreadful lion there…"

"There was a lion there?"

"A picture painted over the chest…Come to think of it now, it was like one of those coat of arms you see in museums…"

"Must be our family´s coat of arms. I´ve never seen it, but…"

"Anyway, we opened it to see if there was anything fun we could use…"

"Well? Was there?"

"Hold your horses, Oscar!" she laughed and finally answered "no!"

"No?" then Oscar realized she was just playing with her "out with!"

"Well, there wasn´t anything fun for us, and no ghost. But I remember there being lots of old stuff in the chest. I mean really old stuff. Like wigs and dresses. But then there was this medallion with a painted picture of a young boy…"

"Yes?"

"Well, it was a painting of a young boy, a really nice looking one…AND whose initials were J. X. F…I don´t remember his last name, thought."

"J?"

"But why are you asking this?"

"Sean X.F…"

"Oh…"

"You know…"Sean" is a version of "John"…"

"J."

There was a moment of silence.

"Wait a minute, Oscar! Are you saying that this mysterious boy in the picture has something to do with your Sean?!"

"I am not sure of anything, anymore."

"But those dresses were from the 18th century. At that time our family still lived in France."

"And?"

"I don´t think the name "John" is very French, do you?"

"No. It has to be something else…"

Oscar came to think about Sean´s words on the day they first met. He was convinced that they knew each other, and that he has always known Oscar, but…but…How could it be? Even thought she was catholic, she wasn´t very religious. No, her believe lied in science. Science would explain everything, well; almost everything, anyway. But this?

What if it was true? That something was so powerful, that it could bring them together, again? By her own surprise, she was intrigued by the idea. She knew almost nothing, but she felt that they had met before on very different circumstances, and she was going to find out exactly that…

J.X.F. What did those initials stood for?


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Finally Oscar arrived at Marie`s place. After telling Marie the situation, Marie promised her that she could stay there. As long as she needed.

"Thank you, but I need to find my own place. "

"Well, Sean´s room is available"

" But what about Dianne? Where does she sleep?"

" She and I share a room here, down stairs."

"How do you get along?"

"We get along just fine. She´s been so helpful with the bakery. And customers like her. I am actually considering something more permanent. She could stay here as long as she´d like to " She answered and then lead Oscar upstairs to a garret room.

"Here we are. This is Sean´s room"

Oscar put her luggage onto the floor and looked around. The room was quite small, much smaller she had used to, but at the same time it was kind of a cozy with its small skylight window and a rustic look.

"This used to be just an attic" Marie explained "but after the renovation of the building, the attic was changed into a small apartment. And by the time we moved here, the room was already like this."

"This is nice. I like it." Oscar smiled.

"I am glad" Marie smiled back, and just as he was about to leave, Oscar told her about the story from her sister; about the strange picture and the initials on it.

" X. and F." Marie repeated…"Well…"

Oscar waited patiently for her explanation.

"Sean´s full name is Sean Xavier François…"

"François?!" Oscar was surprised. "Are you sure?!"

"Of course I am. But why are you so shocked?"

"François…but that´s my middle name…"

"Really?!"

Oscar just nodded.

"That´s weird" Marie seemed thoughtful "Xavier and François are both names that have been passed on in our family, for centuries…"

"Excuse me?!"

"Yes…" Marie was about to continue when she suddenly changed her mind "I guess my brother haven´t told you…"

"About what?!"

"With the names like that and the precious medallion…Your family is not an ordinary one, is it?"

"Look, Oscar, I don´t want to mess things up with you and my brother. It would be better if you would ask him about it. I´m sorry…"

"No, I´m sorry about everything…"

"What are you talking about?!" Why would Oscar have to apologize?

"It was because of me that Sean had to stay so long in prison. I would have been able to get him out there sooner, but I knew that the task at Versailles was going to be dangerous and I just wanted to protect him. So I thought that he would be safer in prison for that night…"

Marie took Oscar´s hand into hers…"Stop it. Stop blaming yourself"

"…but Sean got hurt…"

" Sean wanted you to be safe, and that´s why he came there. For you. I don´t know what he would have done if he had lost you…"

"…And now I'm shoving in here… "

"That´s ridiculous! I am only happy to have company. Our parents passed away and I only have my brother" she smiled "I'm so glad that he found someone like you. Besides, I don´t think he´ll mind lending his room for you…" she winked.

"Thank you"

"But I don´t understand your father at all! How dare he abandon his own daughter just because she had fallen in love?! I really would want to give him a piece of my mind!"

"Say that again!" They heard a familiar voice saying. When they turned to look, they saw Alan…

"…he really don´t understand the happiness of his own daughter" he continued.

Oscar was surprised" Alan. What are you doing in here?"

"I was here visiting Dianne, when I heard you coming. So, I came to say hello."

"Dianne?!"

"Hmm, that´s right. She´s…a friend of mine"

Marie explained to Oscar "Alan has been supporting Dianne for these past few days. He´s been so wonderful towards her."

"Really?!"

"Well, I better get going. It´s late already. " Alan said "Oscar, say hi to Sean for me!"

"Sure"

" By the way, when will he get out of the hospital?"

"Soon."

"That´s good to hear!" he smiled and left.

" Alan has his eyes on Dianne" Marie whispered.

Oscar only smiled. Right at that moment Oscar's phone started to ring. It was Sean.

"I`ll just go downstairs." Marie said "Goodnight, Oscar"

"Good night, and thank you, Marie. You are so kind…" she said and then she answered the phone…

Oscar told Sean about her situation and about her search for an apartment, after which she admitted that she was in his room. For the night.

"Marie is happy to have you" he laughed "She really likes you. "

"And I like her. She´s so nice. And I like this room of yours. It has some kind of appeal to it…"

" You do? Well, in that case… I just happen to know the right place for you. One guy is moving out from his apartment and he´s looking for a tenant. I´ll give him a call now"

"But it´s late, already"

"Don´t worry. He´s a good friend of mine"

"Oh, well in that case"

"I arrange so that you can see the apartment tomorrow. I´ll send you a message where to go and when."

"Thank you so much…" Oscar said. Only then she remembered the conversation she had with his sister. She needed to know more about "Sean…Xavier François…"

"What?!"

"That´s your name, isn´t it?"

"Yes, but I do not like to use them. Sean is fine."

"Why?"

"It´s a long story…"

"Then it´s lucky that I have time on my hands…"

"Well, alright. My grandparents gave those names to me, when I was born."

"Marie said that those names were…"

"…used in our family for centuries. Yeah, I know…"

"But…"

"I don´t know much about it. I was still very young, when my grandparents got into an argument with my parents …over something old, ancient grudge or something between our family and some other family…"

"Wait a minute, you don´t think that the other family is my family?! Just like in Romeo and Juliet?"

"Romeo and Juliet…I never thought you´d like the story…"

"I don´t know about liking it, but…everyone knows it"

"…oh…" he said "I never thought about it, about the argument, because since that day I haven´t kept any contact with my grandparents. I have no idea of what was it about. Nor do I care."

"But why?"

"Because my parents were so tired of hearing about the old grudge. And so they argued with my grandparents, but the argument didn´t lead anywhere, and so my parents decided to leave. And that night they left feeling angry, and that´s when the accident happened…" his voice became saddened, almost as if he was crying.

"Sean…" she felt sorry for him.

"…and my parents died. Ever since then I have had no contact with my grandparents or I do not want to even remember my own roots."

"Sean…" she cried "I´m sorry…"

With her eyes wet Oscar walked to the window of Sean´s room and looked out of the window. A beautiful view over the city of Paris opened in right in front of her. The moon was shining, casting a beautiful silver framing on the city´s historical monuments and rooftops…

That beautiful, historical Paris

"You know, Sean…This view from your window is so amazing…"

Sean walked towards the window if his hospital room and looked outside. He saw the same moonlight as his beloved one…"I see it too from my window. And you know, Oscar; it´s so amazing to share this beautiful view with you."

"Oh, Sean…"

"I miss you, Oscar"

"Well, I'll visit you in the morning" Oscar managed to smile.

"Oscar," his voice had turned more cheerful "tomorrow I will get out of the hospital"

Oscar felt so happy. Hearing Sean´s voice saying those sweet things to her, opening his heart to her and sharing his painful memories with her- No one has ever done that…

"Sean…I love you"

"I love you, too"


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The next morning Oscar headed straight towards the address Sean had given her.

It didn´t take long for her to reach her destination, which was a big old building. She stopped in front of it just to take a look at it before stepping into it. As she reached the apartment, she saw that the door was ajar. She peaked in. ""Please, come in" she heard a man´s voice saying. And she did as she was told to. There were two young men, approximately the same age as she and Sean was. One of them came to shake her hand and introduce himself. "I´m Sebastian"

"Nice to meet you" she smiled.

"Likewise. You must be Oscar. Sean has talked a lot about you. And he said you are looking for an apartment"

"Yes, I am"

"Well, you are in a right place, then." he said while they were walking towards the middle of the room, towards the other man who had been standing still ever since she saw him.

"I want you to meet my boyfriend Friedrich"

"Nice to meet you, lady Oscar" Friedrich greeted her.

"Lovely to meet you both" she smiled as she looked around "And this apartment looks nice…"

"Yes, indeed" Sebastian said. Then the couple showed her around the apartment, and indeed the apartment was just perfect for her. And what´s more, it had everything:

An old attic renovated as an apartment with a beautiful view to Seine. And in front of her laid a romantic view of Paris, and its most famous monuments and places. …Sean had been right, she did like it. It really resembled his own apartment.

And when they told her the amount of the rent, she was surprised. Has she misheard the amount of francs?

"I don´t get this. You have this amazing apartment, and now you are renting it to me for a low price? Why? I mean, don´t you want to live here yourself?"

"The fact is, that we have just moved in together, in a bigger apartment, and are planning our wedding, so this place is now useless to us"

"Really?! Oh my God! Congratulations on your engagement!"

"Thank you!"

"We need to celebrate this!"

"Sure" the couple agreed.

"Do you like Chinese?"

"Yes!"

"We know a good Chinese restaurant nearby" Sebastian told her.

So, they went there to celebrate the happy couple and Oscar's new home. They sat on a table next to a window with a view to the street. And while Sebastian made an order for them all, Oscar watched as large groups of tourists passed by. There were children with their parents, lovers and elderly couples who seemed to come to Paris to remember their romantic time here before.

"It is good to see so many tourists here"

"Yeah, ever since the people took over Paris and the whole of France, replacing the government and spreading the power of the people elsewhere, Paris once again became the city where everybody could feel safe and happy" Friedrich explained to her.

"I remember reading about it in history books" Oscar said "it all started from the group that had formed from the yellow vests activists over fifty years ago…"

"It certainly was one of the greatest incidents of French history, just like the Revolution"

"Revolution…1789…it´s been 300 years, exactly this year, 2089"

Exactly that moment a waiter came to their table and poured wine into their classes. "This is from 50 years ago" she smiled "revolutionary, isn´t it"

"Indeed"

"Cheers!" they raised their toast to France and its people. That moment felt so good to Oscar, not only had she made new friends, but there was something more to it…as if she felt strong connection to France and its history. She felt as she had come home, again.

The three of them sat there for hours, taking about this and that while enjoying delicious Chinese food. But mostly they talked about French history, its art and culture. She was positively surprised of how much Sebastian knew about French history, particularly about the Hundred Years´ War and Jeanne d´Arc, her heroine.

After departing from her new friends, Oscar rushed to the hospital to meet Sean as he was released. And as they went back to his place, Oscar started to talk about the medallion and the initials once again. She wanted to know more about those, and the connection between her boyfriend and the past.

"You know, that it wouldn´t be just anyone portrayed in the medallion" she started. "At that time only the most important people could have their own pictures on such a precious valuables. Well, nobles, and such."

"You´re not from working class background, are you?"

"Fine…" he finally started to open up about his past "my grandparents are wealthy. I don´t know so much, because quite frankly I am not interested in my family´s history. I only know that my parents had argument with them and because they drove the car feeling angry…"

"Sean…" she held his hand as they sat on his bed. She knew just how much he was still hurting.

"Besides, I want to make a living on my own. I don´t need my family´s heritage"

Oscar laughed to the notion that she herself had thought the same about her family. How much they had common.

"Did you say that the medallion is from the 18th century?" he suddenly asked.

"Yes"

"Yes…" he started…"I have heard that my family is distantly related to…" he hesitated to talk anymore.

"Yes?"

"…Marie Antoinette"

"The Marie Antoinette?!"

Later that night, in England…

Oscar´s sister, Hortensia, was visiting their parents´ house, and while she was there, she sneaked into the attic, once again, to help Oscar to uncover the truth that their father was hiding. She knew she would risk her relationship with their father, but that was a risk she was willing to take. She wanted to help Oscar, and the only way she could, was to find the medallion. She had no idea, but somehow she thought that the medallion was important. Luckily for her, she didn´t have to search for long, when she discovered it. The lost medallion of the mysterious boy…

"Ha!" she was pleased to find it "Now I´m going to take a picture and send it to Oscar"…


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Few days later…

Oscar was just finishing making a phone call, and when she hung up, she smiled. "Everything seems to work out, after all"

"Hey, Oscar!" Sean was waiving at her, calling for her. She responded to him by smiling. All the memories started to come back to her, as she looked around her. They were at Versailles palace, once again. At the same place, where this all had begun. And that same, familiar feeling came to her, again, as she walked through the corridor, the feeling that she had been there before. In previous life.

Sean was standing there in the corridor, waiting for her, and once she came close, he went down on his knees…

"Sean…"

"Oscar" he smiled to her, taking her right hand…"I know, that the first time came rather suddenly, so…"

Oscar sighed.

"Oscar, you have captured my heart and soul, and I would be honoured if you would become my wife."

"Oh, Sean…"

"Oscar, I love you…"

"I love you, too. And yes! Yes! I will marry you!"

Sean got up, took her into his arms and kissed her passionately. Oscar´s heart beat fast as she kissed him back. It felt so good to be in his arms like that, loving him and caressing him. And be loved and caressed.

Then, suddenly they heard someone coughing nearby. And as they turned around, they saw an old man, who Oscar immediately recognised. "May I congratulate the young, happy couple" he said.

"Of course" Oscar smiled, and introduced him to her fiancé. "Sean, this is Charles, the man I was talking about" As had it turned out, her investigation on the burglary had led her to this man, Charles. He had been working here, at Versailles´ museum for decades before retiring, and he knew the place as well as he knew his own pockets. Oscar had remembered him, and somehow she had the feeling that this man knew more than he admitted, at the time. That is why she had contacted him to ask about her past, and her intuition had been right, he did know something…And that´s why they were all meeting here, today.

"Hello, I´m Sean. Nice to meet you, sir."

"Of my gosh! What a gentleman!" he smiled. "You really are a lucky lady, Oscar"

"I know" she smiled.

"Well, let´s move over to the second floor, there´s something I want to show you."

"Alright, lead the way" Oscar replied, taking Sean´s hand at the same time. The young couple followed the old man to the stairs, and to the second floor. There he took them into a room with a huge painting hanging on the wall.

"Oh my God!" Oscar shouted as she saw the painting.

"It´s really…" Sean started, but could not find the right words.

"…lookalike" Charles finished Sean´s sentence.

"Yes"

"This painting is from the late 18th century and it is a portray of a brave soldier, a captain of the Royal Guards and then the French Guards…"

Both Oscar and Sean were staring at the painting, they couldn´t let they eyes off it. The person there looked exactly like Oscar. Only dressed in very fine clothing and having sword in her hand, sitting on a beautiful, white horse.

"…Oscar François de Jarjayes…"

"Excuse me?!"

"Yes, that was her name. Very brave one, indeed. Lead the Storming of the Bastille in 1789"

"So, I was named after her…"

"Yes"

Oscar had finally got to know what had happened here, in Paris, 300 years ago, and how it connected to her family. But many questions still waited to be answered. Why had her father been hiding these secrets from her and from her entire family? Why their family had never returned to France? And above all, who was this blond, handsome man she had fallen in love with?

"I only know that our family history in England began, when our great great grandmother moved to England from France. Someone named Loulou…"

"Yes, well…" Charles started to explain, how the 18th century lady de Jarjayes had turned against the Royal couple, stormed into the Bastille and betrayed the trust of the Royal Family. And ever since then the two families had been enemies. The incident was never forgotten and never forgiven, until today…

"Until today?"

"Hmm" Charles nodded, looking at Sean at the same time. "I wonder…"

"What?" Oscar asked.

"Never mind. Maybe it´s my imagination that is running wild…"

"No, sir. I don´t think so" Sean replied. Because somehow he knew, he knew the way Charles was looking at him, that his intuition had been right. His dreams of Oscar weren´t just dreams, but memories from his past life, that life, when he had met her and falling in love with her. But something had happened, something that had prevented them being together. But what was it?

"I have this picture of a medallion…" Oscar started to tell about the strange medallion, which was found in their attic a long long time ago.

"Yes" Charles recognised the picture right away. "That´s the Dauphin"

"Dauphin?!"

"Yes, the son of Louis the 16th and Marie Antoinette, he had a very tragic life and he died at very young age."

"The Dauphin!"

Both Oscar and Sean seemed to have lost for words. They had expected something, but this…was beyond even their wildest imagination. Sean took hold of a nearby wall, this was all very strange. He had been the crown prince? And he had fallen in love with his guardian? A brave soldier for his parents? That would explain his dreams; that beautiful figure riding on a white horse, waiving her sword…

Oscar looked at Sean next to her. All this time she had felt drawn towards him, but she had never expected that he was a prince. Then, a silly memory came to her mind as she remembered her childhood. Her sister had always dreamed of meeting a prince, who would ride on a white horse, take her into his arms, and carry her back to his castle and marry her. She smiled, as she thought that she really had met a prince…

At that time, a young man came to interrupt them. He was one of the head of the museum there. Charles had, in fact, told the man of this visit, and he came to greet the guests. The man wanted to take them to a nearby manor, that had belonged to Oscar´s family, but which was now empty. As he showed the manor to the young couple, he asked Oscar if she had any plans on residing in Paris, or even at Versailles.

"Me? At Versailles?"

"Yes, after all, this manor did belong to your family…"

"Yes, but I just couldn´t…"

"I mean, not for free, of course. You would work here, at Versailles. Then, you would restore this building for you…and your family to live here…"

"Work at the palace?"

"Yes. The way you handled the burglary, proved that you are really professional…"

"But I blew it."

"Well, some things didn´t go according to plans, but then, you had a spy amongst your group, didn´t you?"

"Yes, unfortunately, we did…"

"And that wasn´t your fault."

"But…"

"No buts, I think…" he corrected "No, we think you would be just perfect to work for us, guard the Versailles palace, as your family had guarded it before."

"And live here?"

"Yes."

"Well…" she wondered "only if you hire Bernard Chatelet, too."

"What?!"


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Only soon after Oscar had mentioned his name, Bernard appeared right in front of them. The two men seemed a little annoyed by this unexpected surprise. How could he be there? And why? But of course, Oscar had arranged all of this. On her own. Charles had heard about her father, and so he knew how stubborn the man was, and apparently so was his daughter, Oscar.

"What does he do here?"

"Like I said, I think you should hire Bernard. So, I asked him here." she replied.

"What? But he was the one who tried to break in here!"

"Yes. And that is why you should hire him, you see, he knows the minds of thieves and so he can prevent them to break in. He can build you security that keeps every unwanted person away."

Both of them, the head of the museum, Louis, and Charles, were hesitant whether to trust this man, after all he had tried to steal their precious items. Once a thief, always a thief they thought. But Oscar didn´t give up, instead she told them that she wouldn´t have never catch the other thieves, the whole gang, if it wasn´t for Bernard. "He´s not only brave, but very talented with getting people caught." she told them with her firm voice. And in the end, she won. And they agreed to hire Bernard, too. But, at the same time, they warned her that if he would break their trust, they would fire her, as well.

"Alright" she agreed and shook Louis´s hand.

"Well" he smiled "Once again, welcome to Versailles palace."

"Thank you!" Oscar smiled. Somehow, she felt happy. And relieved, at the same time. Because for some reason, she could feel herself cosy in here, at Versailles. She felt as if she had come home.

After discussing the contract, both Charles and Louis headed back to their side of the palace, because they had lots of things to do. "Charles" Louis started to tell his new plan on their way "I know you´re retired, but how about planning a tiny exhibition on the celebration on the Liberation from the EU, the tyranny. Its 65th anniversary is coming soon…"

"Yes, I´d be honoured, sir. The exhibition sounds like a good idea. I know just the room for that…And we can have flags of France there…"

As the discussion slowly became distant, Bernard turned towards Oscar. He was still in the state of amazement. Only a day ago he was still in prison and waiting anxiously for his trial, but now…"Oscar…" he almost started to cry. He was so happy that she had giving him a second chance.

"Don´t say a word!" Oscar told him as she noticed his sentiments. She didn´t want to see him crying.

"…I…"

"I said! Not a word!"

He managed to gain control, and only then he was able to continue "Oscar! I don´t know, how to thank you!"

"Well…I know a certain young lady, who has been quite anxious about you…" she smiled. She meant Rosalie, of course. Even thought Rosalie had said those harsh words about Bernard, she still had feelings left for him. Or at least, Oscar had felt it like that. But how did she know? Well, perhaps, because she had become a woman…

"I should go and see her! Thank you, Oscar!"

"Just remember, don´t let me down"

"I won´t, Oscar. I promise, I will never break the law again, never"

"Good, because you won´t get another chance!"

Oscar stood still and watched Bernard running away from them. "Them"…Oscar and Sean. And as Oscar watched her friend disappear into distance, she felt how Sean walked near her, and she felt as he was stood right behind her. And after they were left all alone, he put his arms around her and held her close.

"Now, my love, where would you like to get married?" he asked with his gentle voice.

"In Notre Dame"

"Sounds like a good plan"

"…but I want the wedding reception held here, in this mansion. Once we renovate this."

"How about getting married in Notre dame, and then get a horse carriage ride back to the manor?"

"I love the idea!"

Then Oscar turned around, put her arms around his neck and kissed him…

After that moment time passed by quickly as they planned their wedding. Sean recovered from his injuries and Oscar started to visit him more often. They seemed always to be together, like twins. They were so in love. But they weren´t the only couple in love; also Bernard and Rosalie started dating, and Dianne came closer to Alain.

On day as Oscar was sitting down in down town Paris, together with her friends, looking around her, she came to realize something…

She couldn´t be happier.

She looked around her. How peaceful it was. The dark times of France were now a distant memory. The tourists had come back, women could walk freely and there was laughter everywhere. Everybody seemed happy. It was really wonderful atmosphere. It somehow reminded her of the Paris at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, where intellectuals were sitting in cafes discussion about latest news on science, including women. The time of freedom, science and …She smelled the air "fresh, newly baked croissants and coffee"

There was a man playing his violin, "Chopin" she smiled. One of her favored musician. The man was playing his music, with a gentle touch to it. It sounded so good. But that was not all she experienced. The air was…

The air was full of…love?

Oscar witnessed a scene where three French women, looking very Parisienne, with their long, stylish hair, and their fashionable clothes, they flirting with the three French men. Oscar smiled "It was definitely love in the air."

Oscar remembered the statue of the lovers at the airport. At that time she had thought that love was just a lie. But now she had changed her mind about it. She now realized that love was much more than a broken heart, she had realized that love could be a wonderful thing. Also, she had thought of Paris as only one of the major cities, but not more than that. But now she knew better; Paris was a beautiful city with its history, and what was more; it was also a city where people wanted to live and love, and enjoy the freedom, art and music. It was a city with full of life. And was more; It was her home. For good.

The end.


End file.
